articlePlaying the long game
After lagging behind their international counterparts for many years, UK manufacturers are finally waking up to the benefits of automation, prompted in part by labour shortages as a result of Brexit and the pandemic. With the vacancy rate reaching a record high of 4.1 at the start of 2022, increasing numbers of firms are now looking to automate their more repetitive or mundane tasks, freeing up employees for more value-added roles.
However, in the face of this shift towards automation, UK manufacturers to avoid falling into the trap of prioritising purchase price over total cost of ownership, says Shinichi Tanzawa
